Centre drills
A centre drill opens the small conical seat that gives a drill a stable place to start — or that receives a lathe centre. It is short and rigid by design, because that rigidity is exactly what stops the next tool wandering off the mark.
THE MATERIAL YOU ARE CUTTING4
Start here. Pick the material you are cutting and the collection filters down to only the tools that work it. The letters P/M/K/N/S/H are the ISO 513 standard, used by every manufacturer — the same letter means the same material in any catalogue.
In detail, per group: [P] Steel · [M] Stainless · [K] Cast iron · [N] Aluminium.
Plain and alloy steels — the largest and most forgiving group. They give a long, continuous chip, so chip control is what matters.
Stainless steels. They work-harden locally as you cut them, weld to the edge, and do not carry heat away. They want cobalt, a steady feed with no dwelling, and plenty of coolant.
Cast irons. They give a short, crumbling chip, but the material is abrasive and eats the cutting edge. Here you need abrasion resistance, not heat resistance.
Non-ferrous: aluminium, brass, copper. Soft and fast, but they throw a bulky chip that sticks. They want few flutes, large flute valleys and high revs.
THE TOOL MATERIAL3
Click a material to filter the collection. For a detailed description of the grades see the Cutting Tool Materials article.
The classic high speed steel with high hardness and resistance to fracture, ideal for straightforward work.
High speed steel with 5% cobalt for increased resistance to high temperatures. Suitable for stainless (INOX) and hard steels.
Tungsten carbide with cobalt, extremely hard and rigid. For very high cutting speeds in CNC and maximum tool life, but sensitive to vibration and impact.
THE COATINGS1
The coating you will find on our centre drills. Click to see only those.